Optical sensor packages that can detect and track radiometric events such as gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and sun glint from man-made polished surfaces are widely used by the military. Optical sensor packages with such capability also have civilian uses.
Current sensor packages use flat focal plane arrays to track radiometric events. The focal plane arrays describe radiometric events in terms of rectilinear coordinates. However, radiometric events are best described in terms of spherical coordinates. Current sensor packages do not efficiently capture radiometric events in terms of spherical coordinates.
Current sensor packages also use scanning devices to obtain a wide field of view and wide elevation angle. These sensor packages are big and bulky due to aperture size and the need for a pan-tilt unit to move the sensor to search the region of interest.